serves:

Skill:

5-a-day:

Prep:

Cooking:

Nutrition per portion

Love beetroot? Cook it up in a delicious and filling seasonal soup with crunchy, cheesy croutons on top. This beetroot soup is only 280 calories per portion.

Ingredients

For the

beetroot soup

:

500g cooked beetroot (2 packets), cut into chunks

1 large onion, diced

1 garlic clove, crushed

2tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1tbsp balsamic vinegar

750ml vegetable stock

For the

croutons:

4 slices of baguette

Olive oil for brushing

1 peeled garlic clove, cut in half

1 small goat's cheese (try Capricorn), cut into rounds

4 sage leaves, finely sliced

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C (gas mark 6).

In a large saucepan, sweat the onion gently in the olive until it softens. This will take around 10 mins – be careful not to burn the onions, you are not trying to caramelize them.

Whilst the onions are cooking start the croutons. Brush the bread slice on both sides with olive oil and bake in the oven for 10 mins or until they are crisp and dry.

When the onions are soft, add the crushed garlic to the pan and gently fry for a further min and then add the beetroot, stock and balsamic vinegar. Bring to the boil and simmer for a couple of mins.

Using a liquidiser or stick blender, blend the soup until really smooth. Keep warm whilst you finish the croutons.

Rub the garlic clove over one side of the now dried bread slices and top each slice with a round of goats cheese. Sprinkle over the sliced sage leaves and finish with a drizzle of olive oil. Put back in the oven for a few minutes until the cheese has begun to melt.

Pour the soup in bowls and float a crouton on top of each. Serve immediately.